Boe forum cancelled

BRIDGEPORT — A planned forum for Democratic Board of Education candidates Tuesday evening has been cancelled after the endorse slate announced over the weekened no one invited them.

The forum was to have been co-sponsored by the Bridgeport Area League of Women Voters and Common Cause in Connecticut.

The primary is Sept. 10, 2013. There are three party endorsed candidates and three petition candidates who vying for three Democratic spots on the November ballot. Flyers sent to the post on Sunday, says all primary candidates had been invited.

Endorsed candidates, however, sent out a joint press release Sunday saying they would not be participating because they were not invited by forum organizers.

Cindi Quickmire, director of Common Cause, said the group did reach out to the campaign of the three candidates, the mayor’s office and even Testo’s Restaurant, the business of Mario Testa, Democratic party chairman in an attempt to invite the party endorsed candidates.

Marilyn Moore, campaign manager for the three petition candidates, this weekend, had called on the party endorsed candidates to “unruffle their feathers”, accept whatever possible breakdown in communications there may have been and show up at the forum, which in the end was canceled.

League officials said they would not sponsor a one-sided event.

Quickmire said the group will try again before the general election to hold another forum that included Democrats, Republicans and Connecticut Working Family candidates for the five available school board seats.